This is Adolfo Kaminsky. At the age of 17, he became a member of the French resistance following the tragic loss of his mother to the Nazis in 1941. Throughout World War 2, he dedicated most of his time to operating in an underground laboratory located in Paris, where he skillfully fabricated passports. His remarkable efforts are believed to have safeguarded the lives of approximately 14,000 French Jews.

"I'll always remember our biggest request for documents: 300 children in 3 days. It seemed impossible. I had to remain awake for as long as I could, fighting against sleep. The math was simple. I could produce 30 fake documents in an hour. If I allowed myself to sleep for even one hour, 30 lives would be at risk. My greatest fear was making a technical mistake, overlooking any small detail. The fate of a human being depended on each document. So, I toiled relentlessly until exhaustion overcame me. Upon waking up, I resumed my work. There was no room for us to pause."

Kaminsky passed away in January 9th, 2023 at the age of 97.


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